{"id":9283,"date":"2026-09-21T14:10:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=9283"},"modified":"2026-09-21T14:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:10:28","slug":"monster-netflix-creator-verdict-on-whether-lizzie-borden-was-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/21\/monster-netflix-creator-verdict-on-whether-lizzie-borden-was-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"Monster creator gives blunt verdict on whether Lizzie Borden was actually guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"

While there\u2019s still so much speculation about whether Lizzie Borden really did murder her parents or not, the co-creator of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story<\/a> has given his verdict – and there\u2019s no room for doubt in his mind. <\/span><\/p>\n

The true crime<\/a> case is difficult to pin down, partly due to the fact that no one was ever convicted for the murders of Andrew<\/a> and Abby Borden. Although Lizzie was arrested and attended a hearing, she was ultimately acquitted due to a lack of evidence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the fact that it took place in 1892, long before advances in forensic science. This also means so much evidence has been lost to time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, attitudes towards women during the Gilded Age complicated the investigation. The idea that a respectable, middle-class woman could brutally murder two people was difficult for many at the time to accept, and ideas about female modesty affected how closely Lizzie could be searched.<\/span><\/p>\n

A prime example involves the bloodied cloths depicted in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story<\/a>. This really did happen in real life, although they were found in a pail in the Borden house basement. Lizzie told officers they were menstrual rags, which detectives accepted at face value. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Lizzie was legally acquitted, but that doesn\u2019t prove she was innocent<\/a>. The Netflix series certainly tells the version of the story where she\u2019s guilty, and now Ian Brennan – who co-created the series with Ryan Murphy – has weighed in. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ian Brennan believes Lizzie Borden is guilty <\/h2>\n
\"Ella
Credit: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a conversation with <\/span>The Hollywood Reporter<\/span><\/a>, Brennan explained that he thinks Lizzie Borden did commit the murders of her father and stepmother all those years ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

Before making Monster season four, the only thing he knew about the case was the rhyme: \u201cLizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s literally all I knew about it. I didn\u2019t know until researching it that she got away with it. That was totally news to me. I was like, \u2018Well, that\u2019s interesting because if I don\u2019t know this, probably most people don\u2019t,\u2019\u201d Brennan said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few historical things like that where you can spring that on an audience. At a certain point, you just have to pick. You do as much research as you can, and then you\u2019re like, \u2018Okay, what do I think about this?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Well, she definitely did it. Like, of course she did it.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s so fascinating that it didn\u2019t even go to trial. It was a hearing, and they [the men of the jury] actually pretended they were deliberating for another 10 minutes because otherwise it was going to seem like they didn\u2019t deliberate at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut they didn\u2019t think a woman could do that at all, which is so, so wild to me. But she was very much a blank slate in my mind. I didn\u2019t know the first thing about her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image
Credit: Public Domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The writer also confirmed that\u2019s why they decided to open Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story with the horrific scene of her hacking Andrew and Abby to death, making it clear where they stood on the debate. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, that it wasn\u2019t going to be \u2018did she or didn\u2019t she\u2019 do it. I guess it\u2019s similar to what we did with the Menendez brothers [in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story], where you need to see [the murders] first and then go back,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brennan made similar comments to <\/span>Showbiz Junkies<\/span><\/a>, saying that it was \u201cvery plain\u201d for him when he looked at the facts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if she hadn\u2019t been acquitted, we still don\u2019t know what happened. You know, the story that comes out in either direction is still a story, and it may be based on facts, but you still don\u2019t totally know what her journey was, even if she didn\u2019t do it,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think she did do it. I mean, that\u2019s what you have to do with a show like this, a series like this, is to sort of look at what is there, what exists in sort of the public record. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s just your responsibility as a writer and as creator to make a decision. And to me, it was just very plain. I was like, \u2018No, no, no, she did this,\u2019 and then you go from there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lizzie Borden star Ella Beatty was not so definitive when it came to her response, but not because she doesn\u2019t believe one way or the other. \u201cI have my feelings. I have my thoughts,\u201d she told Celestial Sylvia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
@celestialsylvia<\/a> <\/p>\n

I got to ask the star of Ryan Murphy\u2019s Monster: the Lizzie Borden story on if she thinks the real acquitted woman is guilty. See Ella Beatty in the Netflix show streaming now! #netflix<\/a> #ryanmurphy<\/a> #truecrime<\/a> #lizzieborden<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – Celestial Sylvia<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n